Electrical service providers generally deliver electricity to their customers via power lines buried underground or distributed along poles or towers overhead. The provider's power lines are usually distributed from a power generation station to numerous sets of customer lines, so that customers can then use the power to satisfy their various electrical needs. To measure delivered power so that customers can be billed in proportion to their usage, service providers typically terminate their power lines at a customer's home or business facility through a metered socket box, various designs for which are well known.
A meter box is generally used by electric utility companies, however the invention herein may be used with other utility service enclosures in the gas, water, cable, TV utility industries or with enclosures generally in various other industries as well.
An example of one previously known meter box consists of two sets of electrical posts, with a provider's transmission lines being connected to one set of posts, and the customer's service lines to the other set. In order to measure the amount of electricity a customer uses, the meter box is configured to accept a watthour meter or another electricity usage measurement device which, when plugged into the socket box, permits transmission of electricity from the provider to the customer and allows the amount of transmitted electricity to be accurately measured, so that the provider can charge the customer for power usage at an appropriate rate.
Various designs and uses for watthour meters are also well known, and all such designs and uses are incorporated into the teachings of the present invention. The present invention is also applicable in situations where the customer's service lines are routed from the meter box to a breaker box so that electricity can be distributed to multiple service locations using additional sets of electrical lines or wires.
Presently, there are two common types of meter socket boxes, each distinguished by the manner in which the meter is secured in place once it has been plugged into an electrical socket disposed in the meter box. For example, a ringed type meter box fitted with a flanged front cover is known, within which a watthour meter is disposed so that a head portion of the meter passes out through a flanged opening in the front cover. In this configuration, the meter is generally held in place using an annular, lockable sealing ring.
Also known is a ringless type meter box, in which the box cover secures the meter in place. For example, a ringless type meter box may include a box cover and a box base. Referring now to prior art FIG. 1, a ringless type meter box 10 includes an installed meter 20 and a box cover 30, the meter box cover being shown prior to installation. Formed around an opening in a central portion of meter box cover 30 is a flange 40; a complementary flange 50 is disposed on meter 20 such that, when meter box cover 30 is installed over and around the head of meter 20, for example, then the meter 20 complementary flange 50 is encased by meter box cover flange 30, and complementary flange sections 40 and 50 join together, so that the meter cannot be easily removed from the electrical socket unless the cover is first removed from the meter box or meter box base.
The meter box cover 30 is typically secured in place by means of a small latch assembly, which functions in structural cooperation with a complementary latch-receiving member disposed on the meter box or base 10. The meter box cover 30 is used to secure the meter 20 to the electrical socket (not shown), so that completion of an electrical circuit is ensured, and the meter is reliably prevented from falling out of the meter box socket.
The meter box cover 30 also prevents unauthorized persons from tampering with the meter. For example, some customers have attempted to bypass the meter, so that unmeasured electricity could be used free of charge. Also, service providers are sometimes forced to disconnect service to customers, for example, due to non-payment of monthly bills. In this event, a locked meter box cover helps prevent a customer from entering the meter box and reconnecting electrical service. However, in instances where the small latch assembly on the meter box fails to provide sufficient security for preventing unauthorized access to the meter and meter box socket, a sturdier, more tamper resistant solution is required.
There are presently only a few commonly used security devices for securing meter box covers to socket boxes. One type requires an installer to drill or punch a hole in the meter box prior to installation of a fastening device. However, some installers are independent contractors rather than employees of the companies that own the meter boxes, and thus drilling or punching a starter hole in the box is sometimes undesirable. Also, drilling takes additional time and adds more steps to the installation, each of which could be avoided if drilling were not required.
To overcome these shortcomings, there are also locks that can be installed on ringless meter socket boxes that do not require drilling or punching a hole in the meter box. Several examples of patents which disclose attempts to solve some of the above problems are set forth as follows.
The Inner-Tite Jiffy Lock™ or “IT Lock,” shown in U.S. Pat. No. D-463,248, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,763,691 to Rafferty, entitled “Meter Box Lock Assembly,” is directed to lock assembly for use in combination with an electric meter box or other like enclosure having a bottom, a side wall, and a cover which may be opened to gain access to the interior of the box, and which when closed, overlaps an upper edge of the side wall. The lock assembly includes a bracket having first and second mutually spaced flanges integrally joined by an intermediate web. A jaw is mechanically interengaged with and carried by the bracket for movement between its flanges. The bracket is configured for removable mounting on the side wall, with its intermediate web interposed between the cover and the upper edge of the side wall, and with the first flange and the jaw respectively located adjacent exterior and interior surfaces of the side wall. The jaw is urged towards the first flange to clamp the side wall therebetween, and a cap is secured to the bracket. The cap has a lip configured and dimensioned to overlap and maintain the cover in a closed position.
The McGard Intimidator Sidewinder-Lock™ shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,742,365 to Sullivan et al, entitled “Ringless Meter Lock,” discloses a locking mechanism for securing the cover of a thin-walled box to the box frame. The locking mechanism includes a clip bracket adapted to engage a wall of the box frame, a lock body adapted to latch to the clip bracket and engage the box cover, a locking member carried by the clip bracket and adapted to clamp the clip bracket to the box wall when the locking member is in a clamping position, and a pivotable actuating lever adapted to actuate the locking member into the clamping position. The locking member and the actuating lever can be implemented as a two-piece system comprising first and second pivoting members. Alternatively, the locking member and the actuating lever can be integrally formed as a one-piece system. The locking mechanism is capable of multiple mounting positions on the box without drilling, and uses a spring-loaded plunger assembly that allows for quick, keyless, slam installation.
There is, therefore, a need for a locking apparatus, system, and method for securing at least one structure or a plurality of structures, to secure a utility service enclosure or enclosure generally, and there remains a need for a meter box security device that can be easily and quickly installed, which reliably ensures that the box cover cannot be shut once the support assembly is hung on a wall unless the clamping member is properly secured to a meter box wall. There is also a need for a meter box security apparatus that offers greater security for preventing unauthorized entry into a meter box than is known in the prior art. There is also a need for a meter box security device having a reduced number of parts, so as to limit system complexity and minimize manufacturing costs.
Those of skill in the art will appreciate the present invention which addresses the above needs and other significant needs the solution to which are discussed hereinafter.